Barb Belanger and the Grenouille
Cats thank GeoCities by inserting the GeoGuide

The Wonderful World of the Cat Fancy

"Seasons of Love"
by Jonathan Larson
sequenced by BJCB
Visit her Homepage

CATS, CATS, CATS, CATS

Welcome to Grenouille Cattery's Homepage!

These two kittens were
from our first litter, born March 17, 1977.Arigato Akai on the
left is a red tabby and white female,Grand Prix, called
"Four" on the right is a brown tabby and white Harlequin.He was the first Grenouille
Grand Champion!Please enjoy your visit
and have fun learning aboutpurebred cats , Japanese Bobtails, and the
Cat Fancy!

THE LEGEND OF THE BECKONING
CATS

The statues that grace this page are
usually called "Fortune Cats", "Happy Cats", or "Beckoning
Cats". In Japan, the Beckoning Cat is called the Maneki-Neko.
This cat, long long ago, stood in the door of the Gotoku-ji temple and
raised her paw in the traditional Japanese beckoning gesture to a feudal
lord who was passing by. The feudal lord followed the cat into the
temple and instantly, a lightning bolt struck the place where the lord
had been standing. Thus the cat had saved his life. From then
on, the maneki-neko was considered an incarnation of the Goddess of Mercy.
The Gotoku-ji Temple now houses dozens of statues of this Cat, and owners
of lost or sick cats stick up prayer boards with the image of the Beckoning
Cat in this temple. In business the maneki-neko is said to bring
success. This is because her raised paw beckons in customers. It also welcomes
in personal happiness and harmony. A black Beckoning Cat brings health,
while a gold one, which is quite rare, brings in riches.
Beckoning Cats are often sold as coin banks and in your house they are supposed to beckon in good friends.

Please e-mail
Barb
if there's anything about the Cat Fancy, Cat Shows,Cat Colour Genetics,
or Japanese Bobtails that you'd like to discuss.Come back soon and
visit me, or surf over to visit all the
Grenouille
Photo Gallery!

Links to Friends and Acquaintances with ACFA Cat pages on the Web(Not JBT Breeders, but I like them anyway!)